Water meter replacement in Columbia Heights will start in the western (red) part of the city and move east. (City of Columbia Heights)
A wave of infrastructure improvements and inspections will commence the first week of December in Columbia Heights. Scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, the city will update its inventory of water meters and simultaneously identify service lines that are constructed of lead or galvanized pipe with previous lead connections.
Homeowners and business owners can expect to receive notices mailed to their place of residence or business requesting that they schedule an appointment for the meter replacement and inspection. The city is contracting with HydroCorp and Core and Main to complete these tasks.
Individual appointments should be completed in less than 45 minutes. Property owners are reminded to ensure that their water meters are readily accessible at the time of their appointment and that the main shutoff valve is operating properly. Technicians from any third party company completing city assigned work will have proper identifying tags and uniforms.
The work will be completed in stages and generally move from west to east across the city.
Once an owner receives notice that their property is to be inspected, they will have five days to schedule an appointment with
HydroCorp. Appointments will be available for scheduling Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Property owners who have experienced water meter failure and replacement within the last few years, as the previous models failed, should still anticipate inspections and servicing of the meter radio transmitters, according to Will Rottler, communications and engagement coordinator with the city. Meter replacement costs are covered by the property owners’ regular quarterly utility payments.
The Environmental Protection Agency directed states to move toward completing inventories of lead service lines and Minnesota has a goal of replacing all of its lead service lines by 2033, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Property owners interested in tracking the ongoing inventory process can log in to https://maps.umn.edu/LSL.